DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI: Politics over Shaktiman, the police horse crippled during a protest in Dehradun, did not play out only as a direct confrontation between the opposition BJP and the ruling Congress today.

With the Uttarakhand assembly set to vote on the Budget, Chief Minister Harish Rawat's rivals within the Congress also chose the moment to apply some strategic pressure.

When BJP lawmaker Ganesh Joshi, accused of instigating a brutal attack on Shaktiman during the BJP protest on Monday, was arrested today, his party alleged that Mr Rawat was conspiring to keep him out of the assembly during the Budget vote. The BJP has complained to the state Governor.

Losing a vote on the Budget means a government falls.

DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI: Politics over Shaktiman, the police horse crippled during a protest in Dehradun, did not play out only as a direct confrontation between the opposition BJP and the ruling Congress today.

With the Uttarakhand assembly set to vote on the Budget, Chief Minister Harish Rawat's rivals within the Congress also chose the moment to apply some strategic pressure.

When BJP lawmaker Ganesh Joshi, accused of instigating a brutal attack on Shaktiman during the BJP protest on Monday, was arrested today, his party alleged that Mr Rawat was conspiring to keep him out of the assembly during the Budget vote. The BJP has complained to the state Governor.